hsuchi1

@BlueXArmed

So, if you bought a used Corvette, would you also feel like it'd be perfectly reasonable have say the radio locked out until you paid GM $500 for an "entertainment pass", or perhaps only have access to first and second gear until you buy a "highway pass" for another $5000?

Why is this supposed to be acceptable in video games? Do publishers get a cut when you buy used books? Movie studios get a cut when you buy used DVDs? Record labels get any money when you buy used CDs? No. No. and No.

"Oh, but what about the servers we maintain for people to play? That costs us money, those people buy used games didn't contribute to tha and now we have another person stressing the network!"

Yes, the person that bought it new and resold the game... remember the money you received from them? Yeah, you still have it, and that's what paid for one player to use your servers, and yeah, the original user is no longer using it because they passed the game along to someone else, so it is still one PAID player causing no additional server stress.

Cash grab is a cash grab is a cash grab. I don't mind if they call it what it is and trying to charge for it, but hiding behind "We are losing money because we have to maintain servers for all these used game players", is at the least misleading if not dishonest even.

@WiNGSPANTT from TopTierTacticsco

Kotick biting the hand that feeds him, the Korean e-Sports scene almost single handedly kept Starcraft's popularity going and extending its longevity for an amazing (for any game) 12 years.

This is obviously another power play after licensing talks broke down for StarCraft2 early this year explaining why none of the major TV networks cover or sponsor SC2 opting to continue with the SC1 leagues that have they have been running for the last 10 years.

Following the breakdown of Activision's negotiations with the major networks and Korean eSports Association, they decided to break off and sign an agreement with an online network GOMTV that had nothing to lose and was covering only a smattering of eSports in Korea. While GOMTV has strong online popularity (due to its Windows Media Player replacement), this is a far cry from being as accessible and popular as being featured on the major TV networks.

To support this agreement with Activision, the SC2 league running today by GOMTV are charged PPV in a per game or per tournament format, instead of being corporate sponsored on TV.

With some of the retired and lower tier professionals moving over to SC2 in the last couple of months, Kotick must feel confident that it may be time to burn the bridge that Blizzard built over 10 years before his reign.

But, I can only feel like this is way too soon, Bobby. Imagine if the NFL went PPV and was not shown on "regular TV" anymore, how would popularity be affected? Obviously the diehards will still watch, but this also spawns "bootlegging" issues common to any PPV-based events. GRETECH (GOMTV's parent company) has had to deal with sending Cease and Desist requests ever since they have been running their coverage.

Back on subject, basically since SC2 talks died off earlier this year and now the TV networks have been happily continuing their SC1 operations for the last 6 months instead of begging Activision for another chance at SC2, the next logical step in their eyes is to sue retroactively...

@hunkyChunky

I'm not seeing how your comment can be interpreted as downside to the Loyalty Program rather than a just another requisite "PS3 fanboy" remark. Loyalty Program in itself does not have a downside for opting-in, and of course people may have differing opinions for pay-to-use services, but that is another issue all together.

The subscription fees were upped in the regions that received additional "features" like last.fm, SkyTV and ESPN. (e.g. Canadians did not get either of those, nor did the yearly rate get increased, however the one-month price did increase).

One could argue that PSN plus is akin "loyalty" program for PSN users that are willing to pay for perks of membership. You could still say that multiplayer is still available without PSN plus, which is entirely a valid point, however Sony is aware that the "value-add" proposition is there and chose to exercise it via access to demos, exclusive content, and discounts much like what is offered by XBL Gold.

Just for full disclosure: Yes, I do have both 360 and PS3, I do have XBL Gold and PSN accounts (though I have not updated my firmware on my launch machine since the "Remove Other OS" version.)

Can we downvote whole articles yet? I thought we were past sensationalizing this kind of thing being acceptable news here.

All it does is invite fanboyism, trolling and snarky uninformed comments, and does nothing to contribute to automotive enthusiast discussion.

Or should we start worrying posting about every one of the over 17 thousand car accidents per day, in the US alone, then citing that recalls must be the cause of every case.

I find it comical that one of the linked "Related Articles from Our Partners" reads "Toyota Accelerator Likely Cause of Fatal Utah Crash"... "Likely Cause"... I suppose they ended up concluding the investigation before the NHTSA started...

No, I don't own a Toyota, and perhaps never will, but not because of some supposed hidden recall conspiracy, not because of stories like this (which are ridiculous), but just because of personal taste.

What bugs me is that mindless speculation and hearsay somehow passes as fact and logic.

I don't know about you, but I am specifically boycotting the games with this Online Pass system.

Not because I buy used games often, not because I care about online even if I did buy second hand, but because we need to draw the line... and show them (at least for me) this "project ten dollar" garbage will mean zero dollars for them out of my pocket.

I've been a long time EA Sports fan since the mid-90's, but enough is enough. Let this one slide, and EVERY game will be single use, even if you are the original owner, but happen to be on a different machine.

Let them try to blame it on Tiger Woods this time, but I couldn't give a crap about his "transgressions", it's a sports game, not an endorsement of the person on the cover, I am not buying this because of the whole Online Pass business.

@EechuTah

I'm not going to lie, I love the GT franchise from GT1 on PS1, GT3 on PS2 was probably the best one imho, as probably mostly due to the timing of GT4 being at the tail end of the PS2's lifecycle (yeah, I know it's technically still "alive") it started it pale in comparison to other more advanced platforms. But... GT5 was supposed to be a launch title for crying out loud, my PS3 is still waiting since launch day, and I've played and enjoyed 2 Forza games in the meantime... :P

This being said, myself being someone with "PURE AUTOMOTIE (sic) PASSION", I find it hard to believe that you are not some Sony fanboy looking to troll, or that you have played GT5 nor (by the looks of your position) Forza sufficiently to accurately contrast the two.

You are, in fact, allowed to like both Gran Turismo and Forza franchises, and coincidentally, they pretty much have had mutually exclusive launch windows.

I don't usually post much, but just because of the blatant misinformation regarding Forza, I had to offer up this link:
http://designingsound.org/2010/03/recording-cars-for-forza-motorsport-3/

But I digress, haters gotta hate I guess...

And to the original article, strategically this announcement comes after the XBL deals of the week where I just bought the DLC on sale... well played MS, well played... :P

@zamafir

"...at the time of these sudden acceleration crashes, the throttles were wide open rather and the brakes were not depressed."

I think a brake override would not have helped in most of these cases, other than this one:

"Of the 75 fatal crashes blamed on sudden acceleration, only one incident has actually been verified as being caused by vehicle fault – the Lexus ES350 accident that killed a California highway patrolman and three other passengers last August. Even so, this case was chalked up as an incident where the floor mat trapped the gas pedal, which Toyota quickly issued a recall for."

Mr.T meets D-Day.
Grave Theft Auto

I almost passed on this one for 1200pts, now there is absolutely no question at 800pts. After playing the demo, MvC2 has taken its place on the fence.

Someone beat them to it.... http://www.activisionblizzard.com/corp/index.html

(in response to BUGz) Korea is heavily vested in online PC games, so it is different market when looking at "video games", over the last couple years XBOX360 has been trying to break through (with only limited success, but far better than Japan). They even went so far to sponsor/pay for a dedicated show to showcase 360 games on the starcraft TV channels during primetime.

Gaming is much more "mainstream" in Korea, perhaps not in terms the number of people consuming, but in terms of it being acceptable to the mainstream public. For example, competitive gaming is referred to as e-Sports and has a governing body (KeSPA - Korean eSPorts Association). e-Sports players have endorsement deals and contracts to play in the various leagues within the countries.

You could perhaps go as far as to say that Korea is more "serious" about games than in America or anywhere else in the world. In North America, you couldn't really get much farther than games being recreation and pasttime, in Korea, you could take it as far as an actual occupation.

Sure there are a few "pros" in the Americas with the MLG circuit, but it is pretty bush league (no offense to those in the MLG, of course, you've got to make due with what you've been given) when you compare it the mainstream exposure of Korean e-Sports and the type of "compensation" involved.